Knock Out Criminals Hit a Home Run in New Orleans

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The knock out game has come to New Orleans with a vengeance in recent weeks. Despite police denials, there have been several recent attacks that have all of the hallmarks of the vicious knock out game. In the past several weeks, in the tourist hotspot of the French Quarter, innocent individuals were targeted by black youngsters. These victims were not robbed, but were severely beaten and sent to the hospital in a coma.

It is bad enough to be attacked by roaming mobs of street thugs, but it is even worse when they are carrying weapons, like baseball bats. Last Friday, two bicyclists were attacked by baseball wielding black youths on Esplanade Avenue, on the edge of the French Quarter. Again, the victims were not robbed, only brutally beaten. One of the victims had a jaw fracture; the other suffered a skull fracture. They are both lucky to be alive and could have easily been killed. If apprehended, these criminals should be charged with attempted murder.

Again, the undermanned New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) downplayed the incidents and claimed that they were not examples of the type of knock out attacks that have been going on in cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and St. Louis. The police maintain that since the thugs used baseball bats it was a typical aggravated battery case. In reality, these crimes were an example of the knock out game carried to a more dangerous level.

We do not know whether the attacks were racially motivated because the police have not released the race of the two victims. To make matters worse, some media outlets in New Orleans, such as the Times Picayune newspaper, refuse to publicize the race of the criminals involved in the incidents. This is political correctness taken to a dangerous level. Without accurate information about who is committing these crimes, the public cannot take adequate precautions and cannot provide vital information to police that may be used to apprehend these felons.

The crime situation in New Orleans is going from bad to worse. Every day police officers are leaving the force, disgusted with policies that limit their detail pay and require Orleans Parish residency. They also do not agree with the crime fighting strategies of Police Chief Ronal Serpas or appreciate the type of treatment they receive from Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s office.

Since Mayor Landrieu was re-elected on February 1, another 15 officers have departed the NOPD, giving law abiding citizens in New Orleans more to worry about. Under Mayor Landrieu and Chief Serpas, the police department has suffered tremendously, declining from 1600 officers to approximately 1100 today.

In a city where liberal judges allow hardened criminals access to the streets after brief stays in prison, if at all, the remaining police officers must feel powerless. All too often they see the criminals they arrest right back on the streets of New Orleans the very next day.

In the case of the Esplanade Avenue bicyclist attacks, there is little question that the perpetrators of these horrific crimes will be young offenders who have been in and out of the criminal justice system. With so many youngsters growing up with no discipline and no father at home, they find their role models in all the wrong places, on the crime infested streets of New Orleans.

The police can deny the problem, the statistics can be manipulated, but the average citizen knows full well that the crime problem is out of control in New Orleans.

Hopefully, more New Orleans citizens will become trained in firearms and receive their concealed carry permit. It may soon become the only way they can protect themselves.

I have noticed an increase in the number of phone calls and participation in my concealed handgun permit classes. It’s important for people to resize that just owning a firearm doesn’t mean you are prepared to defend yourself in a life threatening attack. Defensive shooting techniques are rarely practiced by even experienced firearm owners. They go to the range and take their time aiming at the same spot… Never aim quick shoot quick. That’s one of the reasons I started my company Concealed Carry NOLA.

mike

Thanks for perpetuating nonsense. Did you look up reports of how many of these incidents happened, say, in the 90s? If it were just as many, or maybe more back then, would you cease using the racist "knockout game" media meme? It's called assault, and it's not some new trend or game.

Pandora

Absolutely! I, along with my then-boyfriend, was attacked and beaten on Esplanade Ave. in 2005 – long before any so-called "knockout game." Two other couples were also attacked and beaten minutes before we were. It's assault, pure and simple.

This opinion piece is nothing more than inflammatory, right-wing, racist bullshit á la Fox News. Yes, our criminal justice system is broken. But that doesn't excuse this piece of poorly-written drivel that somehow manages to fit in a dig at single mothers, as well. And, as others have noted, the headline is in extremely poor taste. WGNO should be ashamed of themselves for publishing this.

Pious

AppleOverEasy

Thank You for this honest report. There has also been an uptick in these kids harassing the galleries on St Claude Ave. Good Children was shot up, and one of the most well known artists in the city had to hold the door shut while 2 thugs tried to force their way in. Thank God they ran off. NOPD was indifferent and classified it in a way to downplay the danger involved. There is a lot of race based animosity towards the gentrification of New Orleans post Katrina.

CuriousCat2014

Serpas blames parents:

'Where are the parents?' " Serpas said. "We have to end this notion that families are not responsible. Parents with co-criminal behavior will be arrested. We want to send a clear message that shirking your duties as a parent is no longer acceptable."